Women empowerment important for demographic dividend: Niti Aayog VC

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar on Friday said women empowerment was one of the important conditions for realising the demographic dividend.

Women constituted half of the country's population and shouldered three-fourth of the responsibility to run the society, but they got only one-fourth of the respect they deserved, he said speaking at JRD Tata Memorial Awards and Oration organised by the Population Foundation of India.

"This needs to be changed by focusing on '4 Es' - Educate, Employ, Empower and Enjoy," a release quoted Kumar as saying.

Adequate investments in family planning were essential for overall growth and development in the country, he added.

Kumar also released a study entitled 'Cost of Inaction in Family Planning in India: An Analysis of Health and Economic Implications'.

The study estimated that with increased investments in family planning over 15 years, India would not only save as much as Rs 27,000 crore in public health spending and redirect it to other health priorities, but also enables its citizens to save Rs 71,500 crore of out-of-pocket expenditure(OOPE).